The Conservatory

The Conservatory, built in the 1870s with an addition in 1903 and later 20th-century additions, was designed by Edward Milner as part of the Pavilion Gardens complex, a gift from the 7th Duke of Devonshire. It is constructed from cast-iron and glass, gritstone rock masonry with ashlar dressings, and has a hipped Welsh slate roof.

The north entrance, dated 1903, features central glazed double doors with overlights, flanked by rock-faced stone walls topped with four Tuscan Doric columns supporting a continuous entablature. Round-headed projecting windows with glazing bars are positioned above the columns. To the left of the entrance, a similar window is set at an angle, followed by a glazed section and an access doorway through the lower walling. The tall, two-storey block to the left has a hipped glass roof over its west-facing side, a square plan, and a stone north wall. The glass facades are divided into three sections by tall cast-iron columns, with similar columns at the corners. The south front has seven windows arranged in a 2:3:2 pattern, each with fifteen panes on the ground floor and twelve panes on the upper floors, with timber panels between. An ornate iron scrolled bracket supports a hanging lamp attached to an upper-floor corner column. A single-storey conservatory range to the west is in two stages, with ten windows arranged 4:6, angled to the left. The right-hand range has a hipped slate roof. The south facade has a low ashlar wall punctuated by six windows with columns in between, each window featuring a three-light design with transoms and three-pane tops. A similar four-window range is positioned to the left, with matching fenestration, and a double-glazed door in the centre of the right bay. Above, an ornate iron parapet is adorned with crown finials.

Inside the tall storey, ornate engaged columns are present. The single-storey range features bracketed, ornate iron roof trusses supported on cast-iron engaged columns with ornate capitals, and six-panel doors within raised surrounds.